‘I know the weather’s grim, but it’s a great place to climb’
If there was one individual who for me epitomizes the essence of winter climbing and especially of Scottish winter climbing, it is ‘The Fox of Glencoe’. Otherwise known as Hamish MacInnis. He started making his mark on Scottish climbing in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Classics such as: Crowberry Ridge Direct, Ravens Gully, the first winter ascent of Cullin Ridge on Skye, and the first winter ascent of Zero Gully on Ben Nevis all fell to the Fox.
Although Scotland was and still is his home, MacInnis was well travelled and prolific throughout the world, with trips to New Zealand, South America, and the Himalaya where he contributed to several Everest expeditions. Outrageous as it may seem, MacInnis and a partner actually tried an unauthorized two man attempt on Everest in 1953 around the time of the first ascent by Norgay and Hillary. Closer to home he made the first ‘British’ ascent of the Bonatti Pillar on the Dru in the French Alps. Back in the day MacInnis would partner with some of the greats of British mountaineering; the likes of Tom Patey, Chris Bonnington, Dougal Haston, and Doug Scott.
And although he made his mark climbing at a high level, he had even greater impact on climbing that extended beyond his routes. He was an innovator and educator. He was a pioneer if not the originator of metal shafted ice tools. His Terrodactyll’s revolutionized ice climbing and were the precursor of all contemporary ice tools.
Offwidth and some ‘Terrors’ getting ready for the N. Face of Mt. Tszil back in the day (circa 1977)
Another invention of his was the folding rescue stretcher. These are in use today worldwide. As an educator and out of a great concern for safety he is noted as developing many of the tools and techniques of modern mountain rescue. He founded and led several mountain search and rescue teams over his career, as well as writing the International Mountain Rescue Handbook. In fact he has authored over twenty books and climbing guides. As a part of his involvement in mountain rescue was training and utilization of dogs as valuable search and rescue tools.
And if that weren’t enough he has been heavily involved in the movie industry in a wide variety of roles ranging from stunt double, advisor, safety officer and rigger. Several hundred documentaries as well as numerous ‘box office’ films are listed in his accomplishments. Some films of his include: The Mission, Rob Roy, Highlander, and of course the cult classic The Eiger Sanction. And believe it or not some Monty Python episodes.
Now that’s some curriculum vitae…
Classic Scottish Winter Conditions